building a forge!!!

strahd71

strahd71

Joined
Jan 26, 2006
Messages
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i've decided i am going to build a forge! so today i bought a piece of 10 inch round pipe (1/8 in thick is as thin as i could get) its 14 inches long. and i will be buying the burners, ceramic blanket, etc. from larry zoeller.

really looking forward to building it. but since money is tight i will have to nickle and dime it. so who knows when it will get done.

any thoughts from you guys would be great.

thanks

jake
 
I really enjoy building forges and (obviously) using them. I have used Mr. Zoeller's supplies and will say that his stuff and his service are very good. How many burners are you porting in? Two? What about your kaowool, one layer or two? Did you try the Plistix 900f that he sells? I did, but didn't much like it as a substitute for ITC 100; perhaps I didn't apply it in the most perfect manner possible. I built a 16" long forge w/two layers of wool and two 3/4 sidearm burners, thin firebricks for a replaceable floor, and swing-out insulated doors. It got screaming welding heats without serious hot spots and held up really well, then when I moved I relined it and sold it for 160 bucks. Wish I hadn't let that one go.
Enjoy!
 
I started out with a 11" pipe, koawool and satanite lined with open ends (stack firebrick to close it up). After awhile I built another one that was smaller and (I hope) more effecient. I made it out of some kind of 8" pressure tank. It has a back so I don't have to use fire brick, except in the front. I'm thinking of putting a door on the front.
anyway the reason I mentioned this is that the first one was a pretty big space to heat. If you're just making knives, you might want to think about a smaller pipe. Saves on propane. Just my 2 cents.
Ed
 
The 10" pipe is a good size, just use two inch wool, or a double layer of 1". After the whole thing is finished, you will have a little over a five inch round chamber.The extra insulation will make the forge very efficient.

I highly recommend you make my two-stage controller to regulate the forge. It makes keeping the forge at any desired temperature real easy. You can add this later, but when you do you will say, "Why didn't I do this sooner!".

Here is a build thread with a poor drawing of the schematic (I haver asked JT to make up a nice clean drawing to post). A search on PID controlled forge will get lots of info on this design.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=523845


Stacy
 
stacy that is a great idea and thread! and yes i am going to put in 2 inches of insulation. i am also planning on lining the bottom with some thin fire bricks to help the liner. i am planning on using some of larry's new Z burners.

vorpal.... i am just starting out so i don't know if i have an opinion whether ICT 100 is better than plistix 900f. i havent gotten that far yet. you never said exactly why you didnt like it though so i am curious as to yours and others opinions about that.

ED... ur right in saying that a smaller size would be more efficient but i want to be able to do more than blades in the future. also i dont have a clue and this will be my first real gas gorge so i'm getting ready to go through the trial and error stage to find what works for me. although i do value every ones input because i am old enough and wise enough to know that i dont know what i am doing and you guys have been where i am at once upon a time.

thank you so much guys

jake
 
ok so i am in the process of ordering some of the parts for my forge from larry zoeller.

because of cash flow i am having to just order part of what i need for now.

i am ordering 2 of his burner holders.

ceramic wool

and the plistix 990f.

when i mount the burner holders how far from the opening/front of the forge should the first one be? i undersdtand that from there on burners are four inches on center, so does that mean 4 inches from the opening also?

jake
 
I'd put the burners 4" apart and five inches from each door, four inches is pretty close to the door for me. At 14" by +/-5" I.D. it seems like you could probably get welding heat with those two layers of wool and a good single side arm burner, however a single venturi burner in the middle would likely give you a hot spot. Just make sure you have a big enough exhaust opening or you could choke that forge for sure. As for Plistix 900f, I only tried it because ITC is so bloody expensive even though it works great. The Plistix seemed to scorch and break up pretty bad sooner than I would have hoped. It got to be a wierd shade of red/black and just crumbled in pieces off the walls. Like I say, I thought I got the amount of water right but "the consistency of a milkshake" like it says on the container is fairly subjective... I didn't mist the kaowool w/water before applying the Plistix either, but I read that's supposed to improve adhesion.
 
I don't know about Plistix900f , but I always put 1/4" of Satanite on the wool before the ITC-100. I dampen the wool, coat it with a thin layer of Satanite, let that dry overnight, and then add a second layer to give me a 1/4" shell over the wool. I let that dry for a couple days and fire it in short bursts to slowly cure it a little.Let it set overnight again,patching any cracks , and fire it gently and slowly again for about 5 minutes. Let is sit a day and then coat with ITC-100. Give it a final firing at the lowest heat your burner will hold for about 15 minutes, then slowly raise it to about 1500F . This will make a robust refractory lining that heats well. Putting a layer of bubble alumina on the floor ( and a little up the sides) is good if you will be welding in the forge.

Cutting corners on the forge lining is penny wise and pound foolish in most cases. The outer shell can be chicken wire, but the lining is where the work gets done.

Stacy
 
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